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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| How Europe spun out of control after the Greek debt crisis – timeline | How Europe spun out of control after the Greek debt crisis – timeline |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| October 2009 | October 2009 |
| George Papandreou's Pasok government comes to power in Greece to find the previous centre-right New Democracy administration has been cooking the books to disguise the parlous state of the nation's finances. This one will run and run. | George Papandreou's Pasok government comes to power in Greece to find the previous centre-right New Democracy administration has been cooking the books to disguise the parlous state of the nation's finances. This one will run and run. |
| Herman Van Rompuy, the Lisbon treaty's freshly minted president of Europe and summits chairman, has (self-promoting) ambitions for EU leaders' get-togethers to be held much more often than the regular four times a year. He'll never get a better opportunity. | Herman Van Rompuy, the Lisbon treaty's freshly minted president of Europe and summits chairman, has (self-promoting) ambitions for EU leaders' get-togethers to be held much more often than the regular four times a year. He'll never get a better opportunity. |
| 11 February 2010 | 11 February 2010 |
| First of countless emergency summits, distinguished by the lofty intent to take "determined and co-ordinated action to safeguard financial stability in the euro area". Not the last time we'll hear this. But bailouts are illegal – Berlin says nein. | First of countless emergency summits, distinguished by the lofty intent to take "determined and co-ordinated action to safeguard financial stability in the euro area". Not the last time we'll hear this. But bailouts are illegal – Berlin says nein. |
| 25 March | 25 March |
| A summit. By now Greece is in effect insolvent, its borrowing costs a staggering 10%, its budget deficit nudging 13%. Berlin and bailouts – nein. Instead the Germans are pressing a new regime of fiscal rigour on the (then) 16 eurozone countries. | A summit. By now Greece is in effect insolvent, its borrowing costs a staggering 10%, its budget deficit nudging 13%. Berlin and bailouts – nein. Instead the Germans are pressing a new regime of fiscal rigour on the (then) 16 eurozone countries. |
| 2 May | 2 May |
| The bailout taboo is broken. Eurozone finance ministers agree Greece will get €110bn (£88.84bn), paving the way for a following weekend of extraordinary drama. | The bailout taboo is broken. Eurozone finance ministers agree Greece will get €110bn (£88.84bn), paving the way for a following weekend of extraordinary drama. |
| 7 May | 7 May |
| Another special summit (Van Rompuy can't believe his plot would bear fruit so quickly) instructs finance ministers to rush to Brussels to cobble together the eurozone's first bailout fund. By the small hours of the following Monday, they exceed expectations by announcing a €440bn pot which, with IMF and European commission add-ons, becomes €750bn – in addition to the €110bn for Greece. Crisis over? | Another special summit (Van Rompuy can't believe his plot would bear fruit so quickly) instructs finance ministers to rush to Brussels to cobble together the eurozone's first bailout fund. By the small hours of the following Monday, they exceed expectations by announcing a €440bn pot which, with IMF and European commission add-ons, becomes €750bn – in addition to the €110bn for Greece. Crisis over? |
| 7 June | 7 June |
| The bailout fund becomes the European financial stability facility, based in Luxembourg, and the talk turns to eurobonds or pooled eurozone debt issuance – the thickest of many red lines for Berlin. | The bailout fund becomes the European financial stability facility, based in Luxembourg, and the talk turns to eurobonds or pooled eurozone debt issuance – the thickest of many red lines for Berlin. |
| October | October |
| Angela Merkel, having been defeated on bailouts, is by now focused on dictating the terms of those defeats. Revenge. At a Normandy beach resort with Nicolas Sarkozy, she bends the then French president to her will. | Angela Merkel, having been defeated on bailouts, is by now focused on dictating the terms of those defeats. Revenge. At a Normandy beach resort with Nicolas Sarkozy, she bends the then French president to her will. |
| 26 October | 26 October |
| Merkel uses French acquiescence to push through tough draft rules for a permanent bailout fund and insists on losses for private creditors to Greece, sparking an almighty fight with the European Central Bank. Ireland comes under pressure to be the new Greece. | Merkel uses French acquiescence to push through tough draft rules for a permanent bailout fund and insists on losses for private creditors to Greece, sparking an almighty fight with the European Central Bank. Ireland comes under pressure to be the new Greece. |
| 28 November | 28 November |
| Despite trying to resist as its banks go belly-up, Ireland becomes bailout number two, forced to take €85bn. | Despite trying to resist as its banks go belly-up, Ireland becomes bailout number two, forced to take €85bn. |
| 17 December | 17 December |
| A pre-Christmas summit prevaricates. | A pre-Christmas summit prevaricates. |
| 4 February 2011 | 4 February 2011 |
| Another special summit focuses on Merkel's "competitiveness pact", common fiscal and economic rules for the eurozone with more intrusive powers for Brussels. This leads to … | Another special summit focuses on Merkel's "competitiveness pact", common fiscal and economic rules for the eurozone with more intrusive powers for Brussels. This leads to … |
| 11 March | 11 March |
| … another summit, and the Germans introduce their notion of a eurozone fiscal pact with obligatory debt ceilings for all, constitutionally enshrined. Oh, and Portugal needs a bailout. | … another summit, and the Germans introduce their notion of a eurozone fiscal pact with obligatory debt ceilings for all, constitutionally enshrined. Oh, and Portugal needs a bailout. |
| 24 March 2011 | 24 March 2011 |
| The centre-left Portuguese government collapses. A summit has leaders focus on the fine print of the new permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. | The centre-left Portuguese government collapses. A summit has leaders focus on the fine print of the new permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. |
| 16 May | 16 May |
| Portugal becomes supplicant number three and gets a €78bn bailout, despite the absence of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, detained in New York. | Portugal becomes supplicant number three and gets a €78bn bailout, despite the absence of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, detained in New York. |
| 24 June | 24 June |
| Another summit, another bailout. Admission Greek medicine has failed. The dose is increased massively by €120bn. | Another summit, another bailout. Admission Greek medicine has failed. The dose is increased massively by €120bn. |
| 21 July | 21 July |
| Another summit, another emergency, heated tempers, major squabbling over the terms of the new Greek bailout. Euro meltdown in prospect. A retooling of the bailout fund begins, making it much more flexible in what it can do as a pre-emptive instrument. By this stage, Europe's leaders are pulling back from mutually assured destruction to strike last-minute compromises. There must be a better way to manage crises. | Another summit, another emergency, heated tempers, major squabbling over the terms of the new Greek bailout. Euro meltdown in prospect. A retooling of the bailout fund begins, making it much more flexible in what it can do as a pre-emptive instrument. By this stage, Europe's leaders are pulling back from mutually assured destruction to strike last-minute compromises. There must be a better way to manage crises. |
| Autumn 2011 | Autumn 2011 |
| The stakes gets higher, the Americans are alarmed at the failures and fecklessness of European leadership. As the questions get bigger, the proposed answers also get bigger: fiscal union, a eurozone federation. No quick fixes here, but we're looking to the future. | The stakes gets higher, the Americans are alarmed at the failures and fecklessness of European leadership. As the questions get bigger, the proposed answers also get bigger: fiscal union, a eurozone federation. No quick fixes here, but we're looking to the future. |
| 9 December | 9 December |
| Another middle-of-the-night peak in the drama, with Merkel pushing her draconian fiscal pact as the eurozone's new rulebook and David Cameron deploying his nuke, a veto on the new treaty because Britain has been refused "safeguards" concerning the EU single market and the interests of the City of London. All but two, the UK and the Czech Republic, push ahead with Merkel's pact as an international treaty outside EU law. UK gets nothing; the Tory backbenches feel good. The start of a serious parting of the ways – the eurozone going one way, Britain in the other direction. | Another middle-of-the-night peak in the drama, with Merkel pushing her draconian fiscal pact as the eurozone's new rulebook and David Cameron deploying his nuke, a veto on the new treaty because Britain has been refused "safeguards" concerning the EU single market and the interests of the City of London. All but two, the UK and the Czech Republic, push ahead with Merkel's pact as an international treaty outside EU law. UK gets nothing; the Tory backbenches feel good. The start of a serious parting of the ways – the eurozone going one way, Britain in the other direction. |
| 2012 | 2012 |
| The year opens with Spain and Italy, the eurozone's third and fourth biggest economies, as the too-big-to-fail worries. | The year opens with Spain and Italy, the eurozone's third and fourth biggest economies, as the too-big-to-fail worries. |
| 30 January | 30 January |
| Summit signs off on Merkel's fiscal pact, with the British and the Czechs outside, but the German leader looks increasingly isolated and resented. | Summit signs off on Merkel's fiscal pact, with the British and the Czechs outside, but the German leader looks increasingly isolated and resented. |
| Spring 2012 | Spring 2012 |
| Squabbling over the detail of Greece's second bailout and the losses of private creditors – Merkel's policy – which she now privately admits was wrong. | Squabbling over the detail of Greece's second bailout and the losses of private creditors – Merkel's policy – which she now privately admits was wrong. |
| February-March | February-March |
| Greece staring default in the face, austerity takes a devastating toll, and euro leaders bicker. European Central Bank under the new leadership of Mario Draghi buys some respite by delivering a €1tn of in cheap, short-term loans for EU banks. | Greece staring default in the face, austerity takes a devastating toll, and euro leaders bicker. European Central Bank under the new leadership of Mario Draghi buys some respite by delivering a €1tn of in cheap, short-term loans for EU banks. |
| 2 March | 2 March |
| Summit seeks to shift the terms of the argument, focusing on growth rather than austerity. Few are fooled, but the shift is an admission of sorts that the policies are either not working or not seen to be working. | Summit seeks to shift the terms of the argument, focusing on growth rather than austerity. Few are fooled, but the shift is an admission of sorts that the policies are either not working or not seen to be working. |
| 30 March | 30 March |
| Meeting in Copenhagen, governments agree to temporarily pool both bailout funds to create a firewall of €700bn to €800bn, depending on whose figures you believe. Lots of claims, but little substantive change. | Meeting in Copenhagen, governments agree to temporarily pool both bailout funds to create a firewall of €700bn to €800bn, depending on whose figures you believe. Lots of claims, but little substantive change. |
| 6 May | 6 May |
| François Hollande wins French presidential election, marking a big shift in the terms at Europe's top table. At his first EU summit on 24 May, the divisions with Germany are plain over policy to save the euro. France, Spain and Italy, all under relatively new leaderships, are now seriously challenging Merkel. | François Hollande wins French presidential election, marking a big shift in the terms at Europe's top table. At his first EU summit on 24 May, the divisions with Germany are plain over policy to save the euro. France, Spain and Italy, all under relatively new leaderships, are now seriously challenging Merkel. |
| 29 June | 29 June |
| One of the three or four really big summits to have taken place through amid the endless crisis management. A surprise defeat for Merkel. Spain is about to get a €100bn bailout and the summit agrees that the bailout fund can be used to recapitalise banks directly without going through a supplicant government. The German quid pro quo is to create a new eurozone bank supervisor, the ECB. | One of the three or four really big summits to have taken place through amid the endless crisis management. A surprise defeat for Merkel. Spain is about to get a €100bn bailout and the summit agrees that the bailout fund can be used to recapitalise banks directly without going through a supplicant government. The German quid pro quo is to create a new eurozone bank supervisor, the ECB. |
| September | September |
| At the ECB, Draghi reinforces sense of resolution by pledging unlimited buying of bonds in secondary markets to cushion Spain's and Italy's borrowing costs. | At the ECB, Draghi reinforces sense of resolution by pledging unlimited buying of bonds in secondary markets to cushion Spain's and Italy's borrowing costs. |
| Autumn 2012 | Autumn 2012 |
| Promising summer melts into recalcitrance and reprisal. Brinkmanship over Greece, Rajoy in Spain looking for a bailout without usual tough terms and Merkel walking away from what she was forced to concede in June. And Cyprus and Slovenia may need bailing out this year. | Promising summer melts into recalcitrance and reprisal. Brinkmanship over Greece, Rajoy in Spain looking for a bailout without usual tough terms and Merkel walking away from what she was forced to concede in June. And Cyprus and Slovenia may need bailing out this year. |
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